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Feb. 10.! 1925:

1,525,644 G e ;I FRAZIER ANNEALING- FURNACE Fild Jan.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I I I I l I I l I I I l I I I I I l I I I I I I l I I I I I I l I I I I I I l I I l I l I I I I I I l l IN vzzvroa I WITNESSES Feb. 10. 1 925.

Filed Jan. 6, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE/Vrag fi HAU VCEYF. FRAz/ER I (It; 1 m

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HH mIh Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES CHAUNCEY E. FRAZIEB, 01 WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

ANNEALING FURNACE.

Application filed January To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CnA'UNonY E. FRAZIER, residing at Washington, .in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Annealing Furnaces, of which improvements the following is a specification.

My invention relates to heating furnaces, more specifically to kilns and annealing furnaces used for the heat treatment of articles formed of various materials, including glass, earthenware and metal, and it consists in novelty of structure, whereby the distribution and localization of heat within. the furnace chamber is more perfectly controlled. Generally speaking, my invention constitutes an improvement upon the structure disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1,889,583, granted me September 6, 1921. The particular object I have in view is such control of the temperature of the article under treatment as (in the case of glassware) to reduce breakage to a minimum, and whatever be the material, to achieve more perfect annealing.

While, as I have said, the invention is applicable to annealing furnaces generally, and while I claim the invention in such wide applicability, I shall in the ensuing specification describe it, in exemplary way, in application to a leer for the annealing of glassware, this being the particular application in which I have developed it.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification, Figure I is a View in vertical section longitudinally through a glass leer embodying my present invention, the plane of section being indicated by the broken line I-I, Figure IV; Figure II is a view in horizontal section on the plane indicated by the line TI-II, Figure I. In Figure II the tiles which constitute the roof of the annealing chamber are removed at the left-hand end, revealing the structure. Figure III is a view in horizontal section, on the plane indicated at III-III, Figure I. Figures TV and V are views to larger scale and in transverse vertical section, the planes of section being indicated on Figure III by the correspondingly numbered lines IV-IV and VV.

The leer shown in the drawings is of muflie type and includes an annealing chamber 1 and a delivery passageway 3 continu- Serial No. 527,287.

ous with the annealing chamber, through which chamber and passageway an endless conveyor 4: may be made to advance, while a muffle chamber surrounds and envelops the annealing chamber. These general features of construction are well known and require no extended description here. It is with the arrangement and the partitioning of the muffle chamber and the consequent course of the stream of flaming gases or other products of combustion that my invention is concerned.

The muffle chamber has a floor 17, side walls 19 and arched roof 20, the whole being built ordinarily of brickwork, framed, strengthened, braced, and tied together with iron in familiar manner, as illustrated in the drawings.

The annealing chamber is so built within the muffle chamber that there are formed, (1) tunnel flues 21, 22, extending longitudinally beneath the annealing chamber, side flues 23, 24, extending vertically between the side walls of the inner annealing chamber and the outer mufiie chamber, and (3) flues 25, 26, extending transversely be neath the floor of the annealing chamber and establishing communication between the vertical side-wall fines and the longitudinal tunnel flues. As is best shown in Figure III, the furnace here shown is bilaterally symmetrical, and not only are the side walls with their flues duplicated on opposite sides of the structure, but the tunnel flues also are duplicated on opposite sides of the mid line, and there are two tunnels 21 and two tunnels 22, symmetrically arranged, while the connecting flues 25, 26 connect the verti cal side-wall fiues with the longitudinal fines to constitute duplicate and symmetrical sets 011 opposite sides of the mid-line of the leer. The vaulted space above the roof of the annealing chamber and beneath the arched roof of the muffle chamber is divided by a transverse partition 27, forming at the opposite ends of the leer and inlet chamber 28 commonly called the fire-box and an outlet chamber 29. These chambers are in immediate communication with the side-wall flues.

The inlet chamber or fire-box 28 is the primary combustion chamber. If producer gas is used as fuel a suitable burner or burners may be introduced in an opening or openings 30 in the roof of the chamber. If the fuel be natural gas or oil the burner or burners may be placed in the opening or open ings 31 in the outer end wall of the chamber. The outlet chamber 29 opens to the stuck or chimney 32, whereby draft is established through the whole. The outlet chamber is divided centrally by a longitudinal parti tion 33, forming duplicate and Syl3li'l'l(t]1 cally arranged chambers on opposite sides of the mid-line of the leer, and these duplicate chambers comn'iunicate separately with the stack, each (JOH'lll'ltlDlCtttlOD being;- controlled by an independently operable dampor 3%, as shown in igure ill, The general course of tlow of the products of combustion is from the firebox 28 through the opposite side fines 23, 24 in front of the partition 2?, thence through the transverse tlues 25, as, into the longitudinal tunnel tines 21 22. From the tunnel does the flow continues through the other transverse tlues and side tines at the rear oi? partition into the twin chambers constituting the outlet chamber 29, and thence to the stack. All oi the vertical side dues, or such of them as may he desired, may be provided with dampers Comingnov to the features wherein the present invention resides, and referring first to Figure Ill, it will be observed the; the duplicate systems of fines are syi'umetrically arranged on opposite sides oi the mid-line of the leer; that each system includes two longitudinal tunnels 21, 22, beneath the floor of the annealing chamber; that those of the vertical side-wall fiues nearer the partition Wall 27, and. on either side of partition wall 27, communicate, through transverse flue 26, With one (22) of the two tunnels, while the more remote oi these vertical dues coinmunicate, through transverse lines with the other tunnel (21). Comparing Figures H and HI, it will be seen specifical y thr-t on the inlet side, the tour vetical lines a lnearest partition 27 open troiu chamber 3 fit to tunnel 22; and that on the delivery side the two vertical lines iearest partition lead from tunnel to the outlet cha 29; While the more remote does our other stream tron. inlet to outlet chamber through tunnel 21, It will further be observed that those vertical. lines which carry the second stream (that, namely, which flows through tunnel 21) open into the outlet chamber 29 at a point nearer the stool-1, th do the lines which carry the stream which flows through tunnel 1 in consequence of this delivery at a poin nearer to the stack, the draft through tuune 21 will, other things being equal, be str ne'er than through tunnel 22, the stream of flame intenser, and the heating ei'lect aster. This is a condition which may be mo at will, according; to the size, the number, and the grouping 0; the sidewall thus. And by means of the dampers 35 the condi tion is flexible and. under control while operation progresses. Bringing into C(Jllrdith through the tunnels preponderate over those through tuni'ieis ieniperat "re will be built up at the inter.) end of he annealing chamber, one also along the midline of the annealing chamber. By movcnent of dampers 3-1-1; and 35 this condition may be modified at will, The two-sided arrangement, with the diplication oit dampers, makes possible the development of: higher temperature conditions on one side than on the other, either to compensate for some fortuitous local trouble or to meet some other special need. The point is that the available supply of heat, in being imparted to the annealing chamber, may be distributed and l calized to meet conditions, whether constant a1 anticipated, or accidental and unantieipzdaed. ln this matter my furnace structure is flexible, beyond what has hitherto been employed in this art.

A further feature of invention resides in the particular shaping; of the mull-1e chamber at the intalre end oi rue leer-this is the lefthand end, as shown in Figs. I, Ill, and Ill ct the drawings. 1 have alluded to the endless carrier for conveying through the leer the material to be annealed. This carrier universally talres the term of chains borne upon sprocket wheels. The sm-oelret wheels oil course are arranged at the ends oi the range of travel, and learings must be prorided for the axles of those sprocket wheels, and housings for the bear-u ,s, and, at one end at least, driving connections mus be made.

(lontining attei'ition to the leer, the i'nuflle chan her s l'ructed has not covered nor SDI the intake end oi? as hitherto coir:-

surrormded the clret wheels and that portion of the carrier which overlies and extends immediately adjacent to them. This has been. due to the di'tl'iculty' oil? carrying heat through such portion of the motile as might cover the spro ket wheels; the wheels themselves constitute ob structions, in the way oi" extending the line system in that direction. But as in the operation oi? the leer us rally constructed (this when using: mechanical carr" in rin devices) the articles-1 to be annealed are accumulaiwl e adually at the intake end, and then the accumulation is loaded upon the end ot the carrier projecting at the intake end beyond the reach of ihe motile, they are as they accumulate subjertrsl while still in unannealed condition to such inequalities oi? ten'iperz'dure in different iarts as to be peculiarly subject to breakage.

(1 it in I carry the muiile chamber and the annealing chamber forward (cf. Figs. I, II, and III), to overhang the sprocketwheels, and to afford an envelope of high temperature to the articles as they are brought to position on the carrier, I provide sideswall fiues, 28 23 for this overhang, but I carry these downward only so far as the matter of mounting the sprocket wheels ah lows (this ordinarily will be at or near the level of the horizontal reach of the carrier through the annealing chamber), and trom that point I carry these fines horizontally, as indicated at 23 and cause them to open into the adjacent full-length fines 23 which open below to the tunnel fines 21 (ct, in this respect, Figs. IV and V). The stream of flame descending through the side-wall fines or the overhang at the intake end 01 the leer, will :go to one pair of longitudinal tunnel fines, and the stream descending through more remote side-wall fines, will go to another tunnel fine, and the draft conditions in the two streams may be varied relatively by varying the setting of the dampers in the side-wall fiues.

The side-wall panels 13 of the main portion of the annealing chamber are prefer ably formed of tile, but in this extension which I am now describing, these panels will preferably be made oi? cast iron, because of the greater heat conductivity of that material.

I have designated. with the numeral 40 peep-holes arranged in the opposite side walls of the furnace which may be located at any desired point or points.

It will be understood that my invention is susceptible of considerable modification, and I do not desire to limit it within the scope defined by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an annealing furnace the combina tion with a leer chamber of a firebox overlying said leer chamber, a plurality of tunnel fines extending longitudinally beneath said leer chamber, a series of side-wall fines and transverse bottom fines connecting said lire-b0); with said tunnel lines, the side-Wall fines toward the intake end of said leer connecting with one of said tunnel fines and the side-wall fines more remote from the intake end connecting with another of said tunnel fines, a chimney with which said tunnel fines communicate, and means for varying the draft conditions in the streams of fiame and which flow from the fire-box to the chimney through the said severally connect-ed sets of side-wall fines.

2. In an annealing furnace, the combination with a leer chamber, of an inlet chamher and a succeeding outlet chamber above the leer chamber, a plurality of longitudinal tunnel fines beneath the leer chamber,

and a series ot side-wall fines and transverse bottom lines connecting said inlet and out let chambers with said tunnel fines, the sidewall fiues near the opposite ends of the furnace being connected to one oi said tunnel fines and the intermediate side-wall fines being connected to another of said tunnel fines.

In an annealing furnace, the combination with a leer chamber, of an inlet chamher and a succeeding outlet chamber above the leer chamber, two pairs of longitudinal tunnel fines beneath the leer chamber and disposed symmetrically on each side of its medial line, a series oi vertical side-wall fines on each side of the leer chamber opening into said inlet and outlet chambers, and transverse fines connecting the bottom ends of said side-wall fines with said tunnel fines, the opposite side-wall fines near the opposite ends of the furnace being connected with the tunnel fines of one pair and the intermediate side-wall fines with the tunnel fines of the other pair.

a. In any annealing "furnace, the combination with a leer chamber, of an inlet chamber and a succeeding outlet chamber above the leer chamber, means for introducing heating fluid into the inlet chamber, a stack connected to the outlet chamber, longitudinal tunnel fines beneath the leer chamber and on opposite sides of its medial line, vertical side-wall fines and transverse bottom fines connecting the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber on one side oi the furnace with one of the tunnel fines and on the opposite side or the furnace with another tunnel fine, and means for controlling the flow of the heating fluid on each side of the system independently of the other.

5. In an annealing furnace having inner and outer walls, partitions dividing the space between the walls transversely into inlet and outlet rooms above, longitudinally into tunnel fines below, and vertically into opposite side-wall fines communicating with the rooms above, sidewall fines on one side of the furnace also communicating with one of the tunnel fines, and side-wall fines on the opposite side of the furnace communicating with another tunnel fiue, means for maintaining a fiow of a heating medium through the rooms and fiues, and means for controlling such flow on one side independently ot the other.

6. In a mufile leer a leer chamber, means for conveying ware through the leer chamber such means including an endless conveyor borne at the intake end of the leer chamber upon a sprocket wheel, the side walls and root of the leer chamber extendingforwardly above and on either side of the sprocket wheel of the said conveyor, a fire-box overlying the leer chamber, a plurality of tunnel fines extending longitudinally beneath said leer chamber, a series of side-null tines leading from said [ire-ho); to said tunnel tines, the side-Wail fines adjacent the sprocket Wheel at the intake end of the leer leading to one of said tunnel fines and the side-Wall fines more remote t'i'oi'n the intake end connecting with enotheir of said tunnel fines, 2i chimney With which said tunnel tines cennnnnieete, and means for varying the dl'zitt conditions in the StE'GElETlS tireof thnne and gas which how from the he? to the chimney through the said coin :cted sets oi side-Well 'iincs. 7 In a, Hlilfih) 106-1 :1 .ieei' chandler, a tirehe overlying said leer ehmnhei', a phn'ztlity of tiiinnei tines e: nding longitudinally henezit h said leer Cililll'iifwl, 'de-wnii tines leading through the oppesite side walls of the Lest-3,644

structure and connecting said fire-box With said tunnel fines, the Sid'J-Wtlii fines toward the intake end of the ieei' and the side-Wall fines more remote from the intake end leading to different tunnel thins, a chimney with which said tunnel tines communicate, and means for varying diett conditions in the Sti'P/(UHS of Flame and gas both as between these near to and these remote from the in take end (it the leer end also as iiiet'ween those on the two sides of the leer.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my iiitlfld.

CHAUIJ'CEY E. FRAZIEH. iVitnessec iiAliblLl I in A. Cnni smt, FRANCIS J. TOMASSON. 

